Peninsula Shores Students got a hands on lesson on the dangers of distracted driving Thursday.
Bruce Peninsula OPP, Owen Sound police, and the Safe Communities committee worked together on a seminar on the issue.
The OPP's 2015 collision data predicts a seventh straight year in which inattentive driving is a factor in fatal collisions.
Police say dangerous preventable driving behaviors result in a senseless loss of life on Ontario roads every year.
They hope to pass that message on to local youth, so they'll understand the devastating consequences that can occur by losing focus while driving for just a few seconds.
Parachute Canada statistics find that youth make up about 13 per cent of licenced drivers, but account for 25% of all road related injuries and fatalities.
“Preventable injuries kill more Canadian children than any other single disease, and more youth than all other cause combined. Each year in Canada, preventable injuries cause: 16, 000 deaths, 60, 000 disabilities, 3.5-million emergency room visits, $27-billion economic burden to the Canadian economy and worst of all, one child dies every nine hours, “ according to Parachute Canada.
Parachute Canada is an umbrella organization that offers safe community designations to municipalities that prevent serious injuries to people through education and programs.
Committee member and retired OPP officer Terry Bell has been active working towards earning the designation for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula. Bell is also excited to bring on board Constable Mike Daze of the Owen Sound Police Service who will be demonstrating the importance of safe driving and how quickly drivers can get distracted through cell phone, alcohol and drug impairment.
“Two police forces coming together to address a common problem. They are not allowing jurisdictional borders interfere with a very positive and need message for our young drivers," says Bell.
